‘I do what is necessary,’ she told him. ‘If there is obstacle, I have it moved.’
‘I am an obstacle? To what, precisely?’
She thought about this for a long moment before leaning forward to brush a piece of lint from his lapel. When she spoke again her voice was softer. It made it no less menacing.
‘You don’t know,’ she said, a statement rather than a question. ‘Never mind. Never mind.’
She gave an almost imperceptible nod to the ex-fighter. Tudor felt what could only be the barrel of a gun pressed into the small of his back. Dragana turned and walked past her father towards the rear of the restaurant where a door was opened for her. A shove betweenTudor’s shoulders told him he should follow. He looked at the doorway ahead. Whatever awaited him beyond it was not going to be good. There was little prospect of him getting to the gun at his ankle. He glanced at the onlookers. They were evidently content to watch him marched off at gunpoint. The thought that a roomful of people could witness what was happening and make no move to stop it made his stomach lurch. What made his blood chill, however, was that when he looked at those impassive faces he saw the same distinctive tinge, the same blueish cast that so ruined Dragana’s beauty. If he had hoped that even the Begovich followers might object to someone being shot in front of them, that hope vanished.
Into this tense quiet came a burst of noisy chatter as a party of five bustled through the door. They were tourists, their accents suggesting Australians, chance and a spirit of adventure having brought them to the restaurant at that precise moment. Dragana paused in the rear doorway. The barman held up a hand and began to tell the would-be diners that there were no tables free. The hungry tourists saw several empty seats and engaged the barman in good natured banter in the hope of getting fed.
Tudor saw his chance. He had to believe the Begovich family would not want the attendant attention from theauthorities a violent event with foreign visitors might bring to their door. Ignoring the gun at his back he turned, shoved the thug to one side while giving him a stare that dared him to shove back, and strode for the exit. The henchman hesitated just long enough for Tudor to reach the Australians and weave his way through them with excuse me’s, praying he was not risking their lives by doing so. His instinct was right. No shots were fired. No-one came charging after him. Shaking off the oppressive vibe of the place, he pushed out of the front door and headed for his car.
Outside, the street was unhelpfully empty. On seeing him, standing beside the black Range Rover, Dragana’s driver and spare thug, straightened up, glancing back at the restaurant. Tudor slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed the car fob. Blessing his boss’s insistence on all possible extras having been fitted as he heard the doors unlocked and the engine spring into life. He resisted the urge to run, knowing that to do so could trigger the thugs behind him. They were dogs who needed a command to act, but like dogs, their prey drive was high, honed by years of being set on fleeing victims.
Turned out these particular dogs had minds of their own. Tudor sensed rather than saw the first come running at him. As he threw himself across the bonnet of the Range Rover, the thug slammed into it, grabbingbut missing his prey. Tudor fell into a roll the other side, springing to his feet in the road as shouts followed him. He had his hand on the car door when he heard shouts in Serbian behind him. He pulled the door open, jumped in, and slammed it behind him. Above the purr of the powerful engine came thesmack,smackof two bullets hitting the car. One struck the windscreen, skidding across its length. The other hit the door, more or less level with his lungs. For the second time that minute, he thanked the Wallaces for investing in the top of the range bullet-proof edition to protect their darling son. Nothing short of an RPG could penetrate this particular Audi. He put his foot down and swung out into the road. As he tore away, his rear view mirror revealed three irate Serbs glaring after him, two of them steadying their guns for more shots until Dragana emerged from the restaurant to stand them down.
It seemed he wasn’t going to be chased. He eased his foot off the pedal. He wanted to commit to memory those faces before he turned the corner at the end of the road. He was certain he had seen one of them outside the Aurora. The others were new, which, considering Emily had disabled three more, suggested quite a well-stocked army guarding the family. As he steered the car through a set of lights he became aware of his heartbeat returning to a more normal rate. His palms were damp with sweat, the steering wheel slick in his hands. He made a conscious effort to breathe low and slow. The more distance he put between himself and theJagodarestaurant, the better he felt. Not just because he was out of range of the armed thugs; he needed every yard of that distance to shake off the disturbing and unnatural presence of Dragana Begovich and her stone-hearted followers.
He had not quite had time to contemplate his next move when the hands-free phone display on the dashboard showed him Emily was calling. He pressed answer.
‘Hi, Pumpkin!’ he said, just a little bit too cheerfully.
‘It’s me,’ said Melissa. Before he could ask her why she was using Emily’s phone she added, ‘I needed you to pick up.’
‘What can I do for you, Melissa?’ he asked, saving her the trouble of admitting she wanted something.
‘Look, something’s come up. This weekend. I know it’s short notice…’
He tried not to sound smug or exasperated, even though he felt a bit of both. ‘You want me to have Emily?’ It was so typical of his ex-wife. She’d lay down the law about some new rule regarding theirdaughter visiting or not visiting and nothing he could do or say would change it. Until it suited Melissa.
‘Is it safe?’ she wanted to know.
Tudor wondered just how he was supposed to answer that. He resisted making a sharp remark. He was already missing Emily. Scoring points against her mother could deprive him of the chance to see her again. But then,wasit safe? He’d just been shot at and had his suspicions confirmed that he was indeed the intended target of a murderous mafia-type gang, even if he didn’t know why. The car he was driving at that very moment had scars from bullets that had been meant for him. It was a stretch to see being with him as safe. And now that they knew he knew they were after him, what was to stop them turning up at the boat?
Melissa was losing patience. ‘I have to go to Brighton. It’s a case… it’s complicated… If you can’t have her just say. I can get her to suggest a sleepover with one of her friends.’
Tudor’s mind was working properly again now. If the Begovich clan wanted him, Emily was at risk wherever she was. Better to keep her close. Somewhere with good security. And he knew just the place.
‘No problem,’ he said calmly. ‘She’ll be fine with me. Pick her up in half an hour?’ He wanted to give himself time to swing by the boat and grab a bag.
‘OK.’ Melissa went quiet and he could almost hear the struggle a thank you would cost her. She couldn’t quite bring herself to pay that price. ‘She’ll be pleased to see you,’ was the best she could do.
A little before three o’clock he had Emily in the car with him and they were heading for the Aurora. She had liked the idea, not least because she would be able to use their gym again.
‘Charlie’s gone home for a while,’ Tudor told her, ‘so we can have the flat to ourselves. You can use the gym as much as you want. The views are great.’
‘I’m surprised Mum agreed to you taking me there. Seeing how jumpy she is after what happened in Manchester I can’t imagine she took the idea of me staying in a place where, how many was it, five people had just been murdered?’
‘One was a suicide.’
‘Oh, that’s all right then.’
‘There were no intruders. The killings were all within families.’
‘Again,’ Emily shook her head with a smile, ‘nothing to worry about at all.’
‘What I mean is, the building is secure. They were tragic events, but coincidences. No-one broke in. The police are not looking for anyone else. And besides, each apartment is super secure in itself and Charlie’smore than the rest. You’ll be safer there than anywhere.’
